Taking flight

A couple of years ago I joined SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) a community for art quilters and fiber artists. I joined with great hesitancy as I was not sure I was qualified to be a member of such an organization and dare to call myself an “art quilter”. However it was through a SAQA Call for Entry that I found out about the New Directions ’14 show that I was accepted into (the show opens tonight). Recently I found out about another Call for Entry through SAQA: Blending Poetry and Cloth (fiber art inspired by a poem). I do not have a quilt inspired by a poem but I do know a quilt that has inspired me to write a poem: She Takes Flight (2013) by Betty Anne Guadalupe, my collaborator on The Wardrobe Meets the Wall collection. I witnessed the evolution of this piece from its original creation (when it was just a concept of Betty Anne’s design wall in her studio) through completion. I was completely in love with this quilt and I cannot tell you specifically why except that it gives me a feeling of growth,movement and possibilities. When Betty Anne named the quilt “She Takes Flight” then I knew I was truly connected to this quilt – it represented my ongoing journey from traditional quilter to art quilter. It inspired me to write this poem: